Just days after walking into a small-engine plane propeller, the family of fashion blogger and model Lauren Scruggs announced she is making a remarkable recovery.
“She’s got her spunk back, her personality,” said Scrugg’s father Jeff Scruggs.
Family members said Scruggs, 23, was going to say goodbye to the pilot of a small-engine plane when she accidentally walked into a moving propeller. Scruggs lost her left hand in the accident, suffered a brain injury and is at risk of losing her left eye.
“She’s able to raise both eyebrows. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but they were worried about the nerve on one side- but she’s able to do that,” Jeff Scruggs said.
On Wednesday, Scrugg’s mother, Cheryl Scruggs, said her daughter took her first steps since the accident.
“They came in yesterday and brought her out into the hallway and she walked,” Cheryl Scruggs said.
"We didn’t know she was counting, but they got about 30 steps out and they turned her around and she said ’30.’ And we’re thinking, ‘What does that mean?’ And she said, ‘I walked 30 steps.’”
In a news conference on Thursday, Scruggs’ parents said their daughter doesn’t remember the accident.
Lauren Scruggs Tragedy
Lauren Scruggs' recovery from losing her left hand and damaging her face after walking into the propeller of a small plane is progressing quickly, so much so that she's walking with the help of a physical therapist.
The model and fashion blogger walked down a hall on Wednesday at the Dallas hospital where she is being treated, according to her family. Halfway through her first walk since she was struck by the propeller Saturday night, Scruggs said the number 30. When her parents and twin sister asked what she meant, the 23-year-old said "steps." She had been counting the whole time.
Scruggs had just landed with a girlfriend after viewing Christmas lights from above in a small prop plane piloted by a family friend. Peter Wasserman and Luke Dixon are the two paramedics who responded to treat her after the accident that severed her hand and sliced the left side of her face and shoulder when she walked into the propeller.
"I could hear her as soon as I got out of the ambulance, so I was thinking maybe not that bad. ... I mean, hey, she's awake," Wasserman said. "Then we got over there and saw the extent of her injuries. It was one of those things that kind of just takes your breath away."
